


The House on the Lake

by breadjin



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 22:35:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17671379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breadjin/pseuds/breadjin
Summary: LOONA HORROR AU6 friends stay at a lake house for the summer only to find dark secrets and terrifying forces beyond their worst nightmares





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends! This is going to be a slow burn, I’m intending to make it a very fleshed out story with lots of exciting events that will hopefully send chills down your spine. There WILL be ships involved, so expect some fluff along the way but this will primarily be a spooky story. Let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy!

PROLOGUE

TRANSCRIPT  
EVENING NEWS HOUR

October 20, 2002

KANG JIYU: _I’m Kang Jiyu and this is the 8:00 news hour. Tonight’s top story is the mysterious death of a local schoolteacher._

(OTS PHOTO OF VICTIM DISPLAYED)

KANG: _The horrifying incident occurred just outside of the woman’s home late last night._

(START B-ROLL FOOTAGE OF CRIME SCENE EXTERIOR)

KANG (VO): _The victim, whose name is Jung Duri, was found by a neighbor this afternoon, hours after the incident occurred, lying facedown in her driveway with scratches and bruises covering her entire body. So far no signs of foul play have been discovered, leaving law enforcement officials puzzled as to how Ms. Jung’s death might have occurred. Park Seohyun is live at the scene with more on this story._

(END B-ROLL FOOTAGE)  
(CUT TO LIVE SHOT OF REPORTER AT THE CRIME SCENE)

PARK SEOHYUN: _Thank you, Jiyu. The neighbor who found the victim says that she has lived alone for as long as he has lived next door: the past 7 years. Police are still investigating the situation, but we do know that the woman had a security camera at her front door; the police are hoping this will lead to some insight on what occurred here last nigh— wait, I’m getting some new information as we speak. They have pulled the footage from the camera… there is still no evidence pointing in any particular direction… wait, we have it? I have been advised to inform you that this footage may be disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised._

(START CCTV FOOTAGE)

[The footage is seen in grayscale infrared. It is completely still for a moment, and then  
a woman is seen running from the bottom of the screen into the driveway. As she approaches the road, the woman appears to be lifted from the ground and hurled down onto the pavement. She lays there, motionless, for a few seconds.]

(END CCTV FOOTAGE)

PARK SEOHYUN: _Oh my god… oh, uh… It’s unclear what we just looked at but the footage will be evaluated and hopefully the police will be able to get to the bottom of this soon. Back to you, Jiyu… Did you guys see that sh—_


	2. Chapter 1

PRESENT-DAY

Jinsoul sat in her room switching between tuning her guitar and trying to find tabs online to practice with. She had just picked up an interest in playing guitar, but she had always been musically inclined because of her father, so it came to her pretty easily. Just as she had found the one she was looking for, she heard a voice calling from downstairs.

“Soulie! Will you come down for a minute, please?” her mother called.

Jinsoul reluctantly put her guitar down and stood up from her bed. She was still wearing her sleep clothes, an oversized black shirt and running shorts. She attempted to flatten the blonde cowlick that had formed on the side of her head as she looked in the mirror, but it just sprang back every time she removed her hand. Accepting her fate, she shrugged and opened the door to her room.

“Coming!” she shouted.

As she made her way down the stairs, she could hear her parents talking in hushed tones to each other. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it sounded serious.

“Hi, baby! Come here, we want to talk to you about something,” Jinsoul’s mother said as she came into view from the stairs.

She patted the seat next to her on the couch. Jinsoul’s father was standing by the window, to the left of the couch. Jinsoul looked at him with confusion, and her father just gave an assuring smile and gestured to the couch. Jinsoul took a seat and looked between the two of them, waiting for someone to speak up.

“So,” her mother cleared her throat. “We were just speaking to your grandparents and they said they are planning on selling your Aunt Duri’s house.”

“Oh… well, I guess it's just been sitting there since she died, right?” Jinsoul asked.

“Yes, that’s right. Your grandparents asked us to get the house ready to sell. I have an idea for this to be a sort of project for you, if you’re interested. You and your friends could work together to fix up the house. We already have people working on the infrastructure things, but I think it would be fun for you to work on making the house look presentable. You’re almost a college graduate, and we think it’s important for you to learn to handle a project like this.  
And it doesn’t all have to be work, I want you and your friends to take the time to relax and have fun while you’re there, too! That’s why I want you to stay there for the summer. And we’ll pay all of you for your time. What do you think?”

Jinsoul’s eyes widened and her smile grew as her mother spoke. She had been almost dreading having to be at home all summer. As much as she loved her parents, they weren’t up for doing anything other than bowling or the occasional movie these days. This was exactly what she needed to make it an unforgettable summer.

“That sounds great! I think my friends and I can make that house look brand new by the time we’re done with it!” Jinsoul hugged her mother around the neck from excitement.

Jinsoul’s mother patted her on the back and laughed at her daughter’s sudden affection.

“You can comfortably fit about six people in the house, so invite whoever you’d like and make sure they understand the work involved.”

“Okay! I think I know just who to ask. Thank you!”

Jinsoul leapt from the couch and bound up the stairs back towards her room. Her parents beamed at her as she left. Back in her room, Jinsoul quickly drafted a text to Jungeun asking her to call as soon as she could. Mere seconds after sending the text, her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“What up, bitch?”

“Jungeun, guess what we’re doing this summer?”

“Uhhh… robbing a bank? Fucking bitches?”

Jinsoul rolled her eyes at her ridiculous best friend. She had known Jungeun since elementary school, meaning they had seen each other through several phases of their lives and still stuck around. That’s the ultimate test in Jinsoul’s book.

“No, and maybe.”

“But that’s not what you meant.”

“Correct. My parents just told me that my grandparents want to sell my Aunt Duri’s old house, and they want us to fix it up for them. My mom even said she’d pay us.”

“So… we’d be working for them?”

“Basically, but she wants us to have fun while we’re there, too.”

“How much fun can we possibly have at an old abandoned house?”

“Did I mention it’s a lake house?”

Jinsoul waited for a response, but received none. The line had gone silent. She looked at her phone to check if the call had dropped, but as she pulled away she heard a faraway voice on the line.

“YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS! FUCK YEAH!”

Jinsoul burst into a fit of laughter. She was always dramatic about stuff, but this was the most excited Jinsoul remembered Jungeun ever being. Eventually Jungeun’s voice came back to the line.

“I’m sorry, I’m back. So how many people are you inviting? And who?”

“Well I was thinking Haseul and Jiwoo for sure, and maybe Kahei and Sooyoung?”

“Kahei, yes, invite her,” Jungeun’s voice deepened at the mention of Kahei.

“Please behave yourself; you know how she gets when you flirt with her.”

“Who, me? I’m always behaving myself!”

Jinsoul made a face of disbelief to no one and remained silent for a few seconds before Jungeun spoke up again.

“Okay, you’re right. I will… try.”

Jinsoul shook her head.

“Alright tiger, I’m gonna hang up so I can invite the others now. I’ll text you the details soon. Get excited, fucker!!”

“Already there, ho!”

***

“Okay that’s one small green tea latte and one small hot chocolate,” Jiwoo said to the couple standing across the counter from her. “Anything else I can get for you?”

The couple shook their heads and proceeded to pay for their drinks while Jiwoo wrote the orders in shorthand on two cups and placed them on the bar. Haseul took the cups and mechanically made the orders. She worked silently, all the while wishing she were somewhere, anywhere, but here. Thankfully Jiwoo had the same shift today and they had made plans to hang out after work.

“One green tea latte, one hot chocolate!” Haseul shouted as she placed the cups on the counter in front of her.

A young couple took their cups and nodded in thanks to Haseul and Jiwoo.

“Have a great day!” Jiwoo said while giving a small wave.

Haseul couldn’t help but smile to herself as she cleaned the bar. Jiwoo always made work shifts go by faster with her chipper attitude.

“Haseul. Jiwoo. Break time,” the owner said appearing from the back. “And make it quick while there are no customers here. If you’re not back in exactly 15 minutes, that time is coming out of your paycheck. The timer starts now so get going.”

Haseul practically threw herself into a chair in the back room and leaned her head back with her eyes closed.

“I hate this place.”

“You say that every day, Seulie.”

“Yeah, because it’s true. The amount of self restraint I need to have to not strangle that asshole is exhausting.”

“He hasn’t been so bad today!”

Haseul straightened up to look at Jiwoo pointedly.

“It’s hard to be mean to you, you’re a ray of sunshine.”

“I know,” Jiwoo batted her eyelashes at the compliment.

Haseul just rolled her eyes at her and pulled her phone out of her apron.

“Hey, did you see this text from Jinsoul?”

Jiwoo checked her phone and found a new text in the group chat between Jinsoul, Haseul, and herself.

“Not yet,” she replied as she opened the message.

The two read the message in silence before looking at each other, an ambiguous expression on both of their faces. Haseul was the first to speak up.

“What do you think?”

“Well, we’ll probably be getting paid more than we do here, knowing Jinsoul’s mom, and even if we aren’t a lake house sounds like it would be a lot more fun than this.”

“That’s what I was thinking, too. I just want to be as far away from this cafe as possible,” Haseul said, her eyes widening at the image of literally running away from the establishment. “We should quit today.”

She looked at Jiwoo with a devious smile. Jiwoo blinked a few times, seeming to slowly process what Haseul just said.

“Think about it,” Haseul said. “We can literally walk out of this place right now and never look back.”

Haseul could sense Jiwoo’s internal struggle from the way her eyes darted from side to side as she weighed her options. Haseul hadn’t known Jiwoo for that long; they met during freshman orientation and were now about to start their senior year. They got along so well during orientation that they decided to become roommates and eventually wound up becoming best friends. By now, Haseul felt like she knew more about Jiwoo than Jiwoo knew about herself. Finally Jiwoo spoke up.

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Okay?” Haseul nodded as she spoke, hoping Jiwoo would nod back to show that she was committed.

“Let’s do it,” Jiwoo said more confidently.

“Yes,” Haseul pumped her fist in the air in victory. “You ready?”

“Ready,” Jiwoo said as she slipped her cap off and started to untie her apron.

Haseul walked out first, taking big strides toward the front and taking her own cap off her head. Jiwoo kept up easily, her legs much longer than Haseul’s. As soon as she was around the corner from facing their owner, Haseul turned to Jiwoo with a determined look on her face. Jiwoo looked nervous, but nodded in assurance.

Haseul took a deep breath and turned the corner. The owner was making a drink at the bar and turned to look at them.

“Good, you’re back. This young woman wants a cappucci—”

“We’re quitting,” Haseul interrupted him as she tossed her cap into the trash can next to her.

The owner simply raised an eyebrow at her and looked to Jiwoo.

“Both of you?”

Jiwoo stammered and fidgeted with her cap, clearly panicking at being put on the spot.

“Both of us,” Haseul said as she stepped in front of Jiwoo.

She took Jiwoo’s cap and tossed it into the trash as well. Haseul proceeded to remove her apron and stuff it into a blender at the bar. While making eye contact with the owner, Haseul turned the knob to the highest setting and turned it on. One of the ties of the apron was sticking out of the top and spinning wildly. She could hear the woman at the counter gasp as the smell of smoke emanated from the blender. After a few seconds, Haseul turned the blender off but it was too late. The smoke had triggered the smoke detector, causing the fire alarm to blare and the sprinkler system to turn on, soaking them all. The owner’s face turned a bright crimson.

“GET OUT!” he shouted.

Haseul grabbed Jiwoo’s hand and dragged her out of the shop and down the street. As soon as they were a safe distance away, she turned to Jiwoo to see if she was okay.

Jiwoo was in a mild state of shock, staring at Haseul with wide eyes and a tinge of fear behind them. Haseul felt a wave of regret flow through her. Maybe Jiwoo wasn’t ready for this. Why did she have to be so impulsive?

“Are you okay?” she asked gently.

Jiwoo managed a small nod. She was still staring at Haseul, but Haseul could see Jiwoo start to relax. She looked down at the apron still around her neck and slipped it over her head. She looked at it in her hands for a moment before tossing it into a nearby street trash can. She looked at Haseul once more, this time with pride. They both burst into laughter.

“I’m so glad you did that,” Jiwoo finally said. Let’s get out of here before the authorities arrive.”

Haseul led the way to her car. Once they were on the road, Haseul remembered why they quit in the first place.

“So the lake house, are you excited?”

“Oh, yeah,” Jiwoo perked up. “I hope we can go tubing while we’re out there!”

“I just hope no one gets on my nerves while we’re in the middle of nowhere. I’m not sure how Jinsoul’s family will handle a death in their newly remodeled home.”

“Yeah,” Jiwoo snorted. “That’d put a damper on the property for sure.”

***

Kahei laid in the parlor of her estate scrolling through Instagram on her phone. She was mindlessly tapping through Stories when Jungeun’s came up. Jungeun had taken a selfie video and was jumping up and down on her bed screaming profanities and seeming very excited about something, but the caption on the video was very vague. The next part of Jungeun’s Story was a selfie where she looked directly into the camera with piercing brown eyes. Kahei stared into Jungeun’s eyes through her phone screen for several seconds before she pried her eyes away and locked her phone. Jungeun always made her feel in a daze.  
Kahei felt her phone vibrate. It was Jinsoul trying to FaceTime her.

“Hey, Kahei!” Jinsoul said as soon as she was visible.

“Hey, Jinsoul. Nice to see you!”

“You too! It’s been a while. Is this a bad time?”

“Not at all! What’s up?”

“What are your plans for the rest of the summer?”

“Not much,” Kahei said. “Just hanging out alone at home, probably. Why?”

“Well, my parents told me today that my aunt’s old abandoned lake house is going to be resold and my mom gave me the task of enlisting friends to go up there and fix it up! She said she would pay all of us for our time, and I think we could have fun in between being amateur construction workers. What do you think?”

“Hmm,” Kahei looked around the room pensively. She had never been with friends for longer than a weekend, much less weeks of summer all alone.

“Who else is going?”

“Oh it’s me, Jungeun, Haseul, Jiwoo, and I haven’t heard from Sooyoung but I invited her too. And you, obviously, if you say yes.”

Kahei had stopped listening halfway through the list. The image of Jungeun on the beach, laying out to tan, playing in the water, walking with her hand-in-hand under the moonlight…

“Kahei? You still with me?”

“Huh? Yes! Yes, sorry. I think that could be fun! I don’t think my parents will care if I leave for the summer. They’re never here, anyway. Count me in!”

“Yay! Okay great. I’ll text you once I get more info on it. I can’t wait! Talk to you later?”

“Yeah, talk soon. Bye!” Kahei hung up.

Oh. My. God.

***  
Jinsoul texted Sooyoung at the same time as Jiwoo and Haseul, but three hours later still had yet to receive a response. Jiwoo and Haseul responded within an hour with a lengthy snapchat about how they dramatically quit their jobs, complete with re-enactments and sound effects. She was about to send a follow-up text to Sooyoung when she saw the typing bubble appear.

 **Sooyoung** : Sorry, just remembered to reply to this.

“Well that’s lucky,” Jinsoul thought to herself.

 **Sooyoung** : I’d love to come! I don’t have a lot of experience with remodeling homes, though. I hope that’s okay.

 **Jinsou** **l** : Totally okay! None of us have any experience, we’re just gonna wing it. No judgment allowed!

 **Sooyoung** : Haha, okay then. I look forward to it! Let me know when and where to be and I’ll be there.

 **Jinsoul** : Will do! See you soon, Sooyoung!


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally make it to the house in this one! It’s a little short, but I’ve been sitting on this for a few days and want to keep y’all updated!

Jinsoul created a group chat with everyone to tell them the details of the trip. Her parents suggested meeting at their house the morning of their departure to discuss the property and start to set up a plan of action. Jinsoul’s mother cooked an enormous breakfast for everyone and facilitated the discussion. Once everybody understood the plan and had finished their breakfast, Jinsoul announced she would be outside ready to load the car.

“Jeez, what is in this? Rocks?” she asked as she struggled to pick up an enormous rose gold luggage bag and slide it into the trunk of the SUV.

Jinsoul could feel sweat forming on her brow, and she felt lucky that she decided to go bare-faced for the road trip. She was going to be driving 4 hours with her 5 best friends in the whole world, so why bother? They had all seen the best and worst of each other before. She pushed the sleeves of her shirt up to her elbows as she knew she had at least 4 more bags to go. She pulled her hair back into a messy bun as she gave a pointed look at the owner of the bag.

“We’re going to be there for six weeks, I had a lot to pack!” Kahei replied.

She gave Jinsoul an apologetic smile and peeled off her white jacket to tie it around her waist, revealing a rose gold tank top that matched the bag.

“You do know that we can do laundry while we’re out there, right? Just because it’s in the middle of nowhere doesn’t mean we have to live like barbarians and stone our clothes clean,” said a voice coming from behind them.

Jungeun strolled casually toward Jinsoul and Kahei. She wore a mustard yellow tank top and jean shorts with a blue and green plaid flannel thrown over her shoulder. She had a smirk plastered on her face, a trademark of hers almost exclusively used when teasing Kahei. Jinsoul watched Kahei’s face flush upon seeing Jungeun walking toward them and rolled her eyes. Jungeun knew Kahei had a thing for her and loved to make her squirm at any and every opportunity. Kahei just stammered out a few sounds before Jungeun cut her off.

“I’m only kidding, cutie. You should bring as many or… as few clothes as you want.”

Jungeun looked Kahei up and down, knowing exactly what kind of reaction she would receive from her. Kahei’s face only grew whiter and she couldn’t stop blinking and stammering at a very amused Jungeun. 

“Okay, okay, enough of that. Give me your bag, you weirdo,” Jinsoul finally said in an attempt to stop the scene unfolding before her.

Jungeun pulled her gaze away from Kahei and playfully glared at Jinsoul. She rolled her crimson bag toward the trunk and let Jinsoul take care of the rest. Jinsoul was able to slide this bag in easily, and she silently thanked her best friend for packing light. If there was one thing she could always count on Jungeun for, it was practicality. 

“Has anyone called shotgun?” Jungeun asked.

“Nope, but it can’t be called yet. You know the rules,” Jinsoul replied.

“What rules?”

“You know, everyone who is going to get into the car has to be outside and you have to call it loud enough that at least one person hears you.”

“Whatever, I think I deserve shotgun automatically because I have the best taste in music.”

“I don’t know if Cotton Eyed Joe can be considered ‘good taste,’” Jinsoul used air quotes to emphasize her point.

“That was one time! And it was a joke!” Jungeun attempted to defend herself, but Jinsoul was already looking behind her at the rest of the girls.

Out of the house with their luggage in tow came Haseul and Jiwoo talking excitedly to each other with Sooyoung following close behind. Sooyoung always had a smile on her face; it made anyone who met her feel immediately at ease. She was listening silently to Haseul and Jiwoo’s conversation, but Jinsoul noticed her eyes seemed to linger on Haseul even after she finished talking.

“SHOTGUN!” Jiwoo shouted as soon as she saw the rest of the girls outside.

Junguen’s eyes widened in rage and she whipped her head around to face Jiwoo.

“FUCK YOU!” she shouted as she ran toward the front seat.

Jiwoo ran to meet her there and they wrestled with the door handle for a few seconds before Jungeun fully shoved Jiwoo into Haseul, jumped in the car, and locked the door. When Jiwoo managed to look back at the car she found Jungeun making a big show of flipping her off from behind the window glass.

“This isn’t over, Kim Jungeun,” Jiwoo said as she pointed two fingers at her own eyes and then at Jungeun’s. “This. Isn’t. Over.”

“Alright, I managed to Tetris the shit out of these bags in the trunk and snacks are in the back seat,” Jinsoul announced. “Is everybody ready?”

After a slew of verbal affirmations and head nods (and an embarrassing number of kisses and hugs from Jinsoul’s mother) they were on their way. The three-hour drive went by faster than expected; they spent the first hour screaming along to their favorite songs and one by one the girls fell asleep leaving Jinsoul to think about the journey ahead. She always enjoyed driving as a way to clear her mind. As they approached the destination, the houses became more and more spread apart and civilization seemed to be moving farther and farther away. Soon they were driving through thick woods with small driveways leading to houses that could barely be seen through the trees.

“So, we’re like, literally in the middle of nowhere,” Haseul said from the very back of the car.

“Yeah, I vaguely remember all of this. It always felt like we were going into an alternate universe or something when I visited as a kid,” Jinsoul replied.

“It’s really pretty. It’ll be nice to be away from the city,” Haseul said, now looking at the road ahead.

Finally, Jinsoul pulled into a wide driveway and up to a large 2-story house painted in navy blue with off-white accents. There was a wrap-around porch with a swing in the front, and the lake could be seen peeking through the trees on either side of the house. It was clear the house hadn’t been touched in many years: cobwebs littered the banisters on the porch, a layer of dirt was caked onto the entire exterior, and the colors were faded from baking in the sun.

“This is it,” Jinsoul said, more to herself than to her friends.

Jungeun blinked her eyes open when she felt the car stop and stretched in her seat.

“Wake up, losers!” she shouted.

There were a few groans and mumbles from the back, but everyone managed to climb out of the SUV and stretch their limbs out on the driveway. One by one they all stood next to each other in a sort of line in front of the car, staring up at the house and thinking of the job they had ahead of them. Jinsoul said what they all had been thinking at that moment.

“What a dump.”

The mood lightened across the group, everyone smiling or chuckling at Jinsoul’s comment.

“Eh, it’s nothing we can’t handle,” Jiwoo said as she patted Jinsoul’s back. “Should we take a look inside before we move our stuff in?”

Jinsoul fumbled with her keys until she found the one she was looking for. She had to jiggle the lock a few times, but she eventually turned the key and grabbed the knob. She turned to her friends for encouragement and took a deep breath. For some reason, she felt nervous to see whatever might be behind this door. She pushed the door open and let it swing. Jinsoul could feel the girls all crowd around her to look inside.

The doorway opened to a narrow hallway with flowery wallpaper and at the end Jinsoul could see a wide, open room. The house was dark, of course, as the lights hadn’t been turned on yet, but the light from the outside illuminated the entryway just enough.

“Well, are we going in or aren’t we?” Jungeun asked.

Everyone looked to Jinsoul who stood frozen, suddenly unsure of how to move her legs.

Jungeun pushed past her and stepped inside.

“I’ll go first, if it makes you feel better,” she held her hand out to Jinsoul. “Come on, it’s okay.”

Jinsoul felt her eyes start to burn as they had been held wide open for a bit too long. When Jungeun held out her hand, she tentatively took it and stepped inside. Jinsoul wasn’t quite afraid to walk inside, but something about the building made her feel uneasy, like they were intruding. Jungeun led her down the hallway and into the main room. Jinsoul could feel one of the others grab onto her shirt and she heard the footsteps of the rest of the girls following closely behind. A sudden wind slammed the door closed behind them, and suddenly the house was colder than it should be for the middle of the day in the summer. They all froze at hearing the door slam, but Jungeun quickly tugged on Jinsoul’s hand to move further inside.

“It’s just the wind, guys.”

Jungeun pulled her phone out and turned on the flashlight. Once they had moved into the center of the room at the end of the hall, Jungeun clasped both of her hands around Jinsoul’s for a moment.

“I’m going to find the light switch. Don’t move,” she said gently before letting go of Jinsoul’s hand.

Jinsoul could hear her heart beating loudly in her ears and goosebumps rose over her entire body as she felt Jungeun move away. Whoever was holding her shirt pulled her in and slunk an arm around her waist. Jinsoul and some of the other girls turned on their flashlights, and Jinsoul could finally see it was Jiwoo that was holding her with a look of pure panic on her face. She always had a crippling fear of the dark ever since she was locked in a closet for an hour by her cousins during a game of hide-and-seek when she was 5. Jinsoul put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. With the flashlight on, Jinsoul could see the furniture in the room more clearly. To the left there was a glass dining table set with six chairs with tall backrests. It reminded her of the dining room setup in Beetlejuice. To the right there were two couches on a rug, set up around an old clunky TV with a built-in VCR. She faintly remembered sitting on the rug and watching a movie on that TV. Eventually, Jungeun found a light switch, but flipping it didn’t turn on any lights.

“Of course, that would have been too easy,” Jungeun said. “I’m going to have to find the breaker. Be right back!”

As Jungeun moved out of sight, Jinsoul checked on her friends. Jiwoo had started shivering from the cold, so Jinsoul moved to embrace her with both arms. Haseul was moving her light around the room, surveying the space from where she stood. Kahei was beside her following the light in between looking worriedly toward where Jungeun had disappeared. Sooyoung had moved away from the group and was looking around every corner of the room. She seemed perfectly at ease, almost comfortable exploring this new space.

“Aha!” they heard Jungeun shout. “I found it. Lights coming right up!”

Jungeun made her way back to her friends and flipped the first light switch she could find. This time, the lights above the living room illuminated and there was a sigh of relief among them. Kahei immediately started to move toward Jungeun, but stopped herself and instead chose to lean against the back of one of the couches. Jinsoul relaxed her arms from around Jiwoo, but Jiwoo was still clinging to Jinsoul with her face buried in her neck.

“Hey. Hey, Jiwoo,” Jinsoul whispered. “The lights are on, it’s okay.”

Jiwoo finally opened her eyes and looked around. She noticed she was still wrapped around Jinsoul and quickly pulled away, her cheeks becoming rosy.

“Sorry,” she said with a nervous laugh.

Jinsoul shot Jiwoo a quick reassuring smile before taking in her surroundings. There was a thick line of curtains along the back wall. Jinsoul stepped forward and pulled half of them back from the middle to reveal a huge glass window stretching the entire length of the wall. Her mouth fell open and she turned to the others, some of whom gasped at the sight. Haseul stepped up to pull back the other side of the curtain and the full view of the lake was the center of everyone’s attention.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends! This chapter is slightly shorter than usual, but it's been so long since I updated I wanted to give you guys at least some content! School has picked up a lot and life in general is hectic, but I promise there is more to come! Enjoy and as always let me know what you think!

            The girls stood in a row in front of the window, staring out at the water before them. There was a set of stairs that led directly from the porch to the beach. The water lapped against the sand, reaching out towards the house but falling just short of the bottom of the stairs. Jinsoul felt a chill run down her spine. Something about this house felt off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

 

            “I am definitely jumping in that lake before the summer is over,” Haseul said, finally breaking the silence.

 

            In response there was a hum of agreements and laughter as the girls relaxed and started to move around. Now that the room was flooded with light, Jinsoul could see the layout of the house. To the left, behind the sitting area, was a breakfast bar in front of a huge kitchen with an island in the middle. To the right, behind the dining room table, was a set of stairs leading up to the second floor. Jinsoul looked up toward the landing of the second floor, trying to remember what it looked like. A vague memory of walking through a small, dark corridor played in her mind before she snapped out of it when she heard her name being called.

 

            “Jinsoul!”

 

            Jinsoul whipped her head around, following the voice to meet Jungeun’s eyes.

 

            “Should we get our stuff out of the car now?” Jungeun asked.

 

            “Y-yes! Yes, let’s go do that.”

           

            Jinsoul shook the memory from her head and led the way to the car. The plan was to drop off all their things in the rooms and head to town to get new sheets, cleaning supplies, and food. As they made their way back inside with their luggage in tow, they trudged up the stairs in a single file line. Jinsoul flipped the lights on to reveal a small parlor just ahead at the top of the stairs. A faded blue loveseat with matching armchair sat surrounding a mahogany coffee table on a grey shag carpet. There was a clump of white residue on the table, and when Jinsoul looked to the ceiling, she saw a pull for what she could only assume was a ladder that would lead to the attic. Once everyone arrived on the second floor, Jungeun stepped forward and turned to face everyone.

 

            “Okay, everyone remember what Jinsoul’s mom told us? There’s three rooms, so we’re gonna have to pair up,” she said, scanning the faces of her friends before stopping on Kahei.

 

            Jungeun’s eyes narrowed and a smirk began to form on her face, but as she opened her mouth to speak, she was cut off.

 

            “Kahei, you should room with me,” Jinsoul said.

 

            Kahei’s expression had become flustered from Jungeun’s piercing stare, but Jinsoul’s offer brought color back to her cheeks as she visibly relaxed. Haseul and Jiwoo only needed to look at each other to know they would be rooming together, as they had been for years. That left Jungeun and Sooyoung the last to pair up.

 

           The rooms were separated by a small hallway. Two doors on the left side led to rooms identical in size, but nearly opposite in color scheme: the first room was painted with navy blue and silver accents, while the second room had burgundy and gold accents. Each room also included a large vanity, wardrobe, and wooden bed set, each painted to match the room’s color scheme. Connecting the rooms was a bathroom complete with two sinks, a privacy room, and a full tub. Across the hall was the master bedroom, nearly double the size of the other rooms with an adjoining bathroom. The walls were painted hunter green, and dark oak furniture similar to that found in the other rooms occupied the space, creating an earthy feel. A quick rock-paper-scissors tournament determined Haseul and Jiwoo would get the master bedroom, much to their delight.

 

            They left their luggage in their rooms and headed out to go shopping. They returned hours later, the car fully stocked with more snacks than anything else. As they were loading everything in, Jinsoul wondered if she’d have any actual meals for the rest of the summer. Jungeun and Jiwoo were determined to bring everything in one trip, and so each of them carried at least 10 bags in each hand, making their cheeks puff out and their fingers cramp once they had dropped it all inside. As soon as the front door closed, they decided to clean the bedrooms first. They decided on a time to regroup, gathered everything they needed, and got to work.

 

            Once Jinsoul’s room was cleaned to her and Kahei’s satisfaction, they ventured out to the parlor to find Haseul sprawled out on the loveseat and Jiwoo in the armchair, scrolling through her phone.

 

            “How do you guys like your room?” Jinsoul asked.

 

            “It’s cute. I like the brown and green, it makes it feel fancier,” Haseul said as she stared up at the ceiling.

 

            “Yeah, this house is a lot nicer than I remember.”

 

            Jinsoul looked up to follow Haseul’s gaze and upon seeing the hatch in the ceiling, she felt another shiver.

 

            “Do you guys feel a little creeped out by this place or is that just me?”

 

            Haseul and Jiwoo shared a look, and Haseul sat up straight in the loveseat.

 

            “We were actually talking about that while we were cleaning,” Jiwoo said. “I can’t tell if it’s just because it’s kind of old or because I was so scared earlier in the dark, but there is an aura of… weirdness in here. I can’t explain it.”

 

            Haseul nodded along with Jiwoo’s words and Jinsoul turned to Kahei to see what she thought.

 

            “I haven’t really felt any weirdness, just feels like an old house to me,” Kahei said, shrugging her shoulders.

 

            Jungeun and Sooyoung emerged from their room a few seconds later, Jungeun moving straight to Kahei’s side. She nudged Kahei with her shoulder and gave her a sly wink. Kahei turned toward Jungeun with a hint of a smile forming on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it and instead looked down to hide the blush forming on her cheeks.

 

            Jinsoul turned to Sooyoung.

 

            “Sooyoung, how do you like the house?”

 

            Sooyoung was always very deliberate when she spoke, and she didn’t speak very often. She always seemed to think very carefully about what she was going to say before she said it. She surveyed the room, as if she was giving one last look-over before deciding how she felt.

 

            “It’s a very…” she paused, clearly trying to think of the right word. “Interesting home. I can tell your aunt put a lot of love and effort into making everything look and feel exactly the way she wanted. It just feels like everything here is here for a reason.”

 

            Jinsoul smiled to hear that. Now that Sooyoung had said it, the house really did feel like a personification of Aunt Duri. She was a little eccentric, but very particular in her tastes. Jinsoul had vivid memories of her constantly adjusting picture frames and rearranging the furniture so that everything would fit in with how she felt that day.

 

            “You’re right, I hadn’t realized that,” Jinsoul said. “She had a weird sense of design, but it is obvious she put a lot of work into it.”

 

            The group nodded along with Jinsoul until there was a loud grumble from Jiwoo’s stomach. Everyone followed the sound to Jiwoo, and Jiwoo looked down at her stomach before patting it with both her hands.

 

            “I’m hungry,” she said with a grin.

 

            “Let’s eat!” Jungeun shouted as she hurried down the stairs.

 

            Jungeun, Haseul, and Sooyoung worked in the kitchen to clean the countertops and dishes while Jinsoul, Kahei, and Jiwoo cleaned the dining room table and replaced the tattered tablecloth with a new one. As the girls in the kitchen started preparing instant ramen, the others explored the cabinets in the sitting room.

 

Jinsoul went straight for the TV stand, looking through the old VHS tapes inside. There were mostly children’s films with a couple of classics like _Ghost_ and _Dirty Dancing_.

 

            “Patrick Swayze, huh?” she thought to herself. “He was a good-looking dude, I respect that.”

 

            She had almost gone through every tape before she found one labeled “10/31/2000.”

 

            She pulled the tape out and stared at the label, curious as to what might be on it. She looked up at the VCR and wondered if it would even still work. As she was reaching up to try to turn the TV on, she heard Haseul’s voice behind her.

 

            “SOUP’S ON!” she yelled, carrying bowls of ramen to the table.

 

            Jinsoul jumped at the sound, and quickly decided to look into this at a later time. She put the tape away and joined her friends for food.

 

*******

 

            With full bellies and sleepy eyes, the girls decided to go to bed and make a game plan in the morning for all the repairs that needed to be done. The house quickly grew silent, and everyone except for one was sound asleep.

 

            Jinsoul laid on her back staring up toward the ceiling, unable to make out much in the darkness. She couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness she felt from the moment she pulled into the driveway. Now the longer she stayed awake, the more paranoid she felt. She could hear Kahei’s rhythmic breathing beside her and she used it to try to pace her own, but the tension in her body was just becoming worse by the second.

 

            Eventually, Jinsoul could make out a shifting blob in the darkness. It formed into a human-like shape with wide white dots for eyes and long limbs. Its body constantly rippled like it was made of water, and its eyes never strayed from Jinsoul’s. It was just hovering over her, slowly inching its way closer and closer until it was mere centimeters above her. She could swear she felt its hot breath on her face, looking directly through her eyes now and into her soul. She tried desperately to move, to close her eyes, to yell for help, but she was paralyzed to the spot. She could still hear Kahei next to her, but nothing could tear her away from the intimidating figure before her. After several minutes of pure agony, the figure reached out to grab Jinsoul by the neck and that was finally the moment she found the strength to move. She shot up from the bed, clutching her throat and gasping for air. She looked around the room, searching for the figure but it was gone without a trace. Kahei was sound asleep next to her, unbothered and oblivious to what had just happened. Or what Jinsoul thought just happened.

 

_It must have been a dream._


End file.
